KEY POINTS:
* Reg Clapp, harness race caller. Died aged 83.
Radio broadcasts of trotting races from Alexandra Park in Auckland become identified with the men who call them. None was more easily recognised than the booming voice of Reg Clapp, and his trademark "racing this time".
He called races
at the track and on radio for more than 40 years, at harness meetings between Taupo and Whangarei. His commentaries at "The Park" began in 1952, and continued until his retirement in 1992.
His breezy voice and accurate informative commentaries earned Clapp the title "Voice of the North". In the days before television, Clapp developed a pattern of calling races that let radio listeners know exactly where their horse was in the field.
Born in Auckland, he left school at 13 to work in the rag trade. Soon after moving to Te Kuiti in 1946 to manage a fabric store, he was asked to call an equalisator meeting at Taumarunui, the first in the district after World War II. He called his first totalisator meeting at Stratford in 1948. He moved back to Auckland and opened a menswear shop in Mt Roskill, dividing his time between attending race meetings and running his business.
Not all race descriptions went smoothly, even with his wealth of experience. In 1991, Clapp, by his own admission, made a complete botch of calling an opening race at Alexandra Park. He announced a false start soon after the field was dispatched, when there was no false start. He then miscounted the laps in the 2700m event, and called the finish when the field still had 1000m to run. He was alerted to his error and said: "Hello, there is another lap to go," but few heard him over the sound of laughter. "Oh well, even a genius can make a mistake," Clapp joked later.
He was a sociable man, and had a great rapport with trainers and drivers, remembers former Herald harness racing reporter Leo George. The old Birdcage Bar at Alexandra Park was known as Reg's Bar.
His final call from Alexandra Park was, fittingly, the Reg Clapp Farewell Handicap Pace. As Christopher Vance, one of New Zealand's best pacers went past the winning post, an emotional Clapp exclaimed: "You've done it for me, you little champion."
In a 2001 interview he said one of his greatest memories was calling the 1963 Auckland Cup when the great pacer Cardigan Bay won from a handicap of 70 yards (64m).
He was awarded a Queen's Service Medal in 1990 for services to harness racing.
Reg Clapp is survived by his wife Bonnie and their family.